News for August 5, 1998

Ullrich to ride in the Worlds

Jan Ullrich has said that he will race the World Road Championship
in Valkenburg on October 11. He told the press that: "It is possibly
too long for me to maintain my concentration and form. But my morale
is good and I think with some rest then some intensive training I can
do well in the Netherlands."

Ullrich will ride the Vuelta (September 5-27) as preparation for the
Worlds. He said: "That is a tough stage race. It will help in my mental
and physical preparation. It cannot not hurt."

New Giro start in 2000

For the year 2000, the Giro will start in Rome and be dedicated
to the Holy Year of the Vatican. The stage on May 13 will finish
in St. Peter's Square and the entourage will then be blessed by the
Pope.

The drugs scandal update

- The Spanish Cycling Federation has withdrawn the National Women's team
from the Tour Feminin which starts on August 11 (to the 20th) as a protest
against the way riders were treated in the Tour de France (for men).
They specifically did not like the way the Spanish riders were handled.
Out of solidarity for the men, who withdrew en masse, the women will
also not start.

- Jean-Marie Leblanc, the Tour Director has announced that he will
introduce a "good conduct charter" which will determine whether a
team will be allowed to start in future editions of the race.
The organisers are adding "moral" conditions to the sporting
criterion already used to admit teams to the race. The Tour will
also have two rest days instead of one to ease the burden on riders.
But further downscaling of the race to meet demands to make it
easier will not be contemplated.

He implicitly acknowledged that the increasing speeds over the
last decade have been due to the increasing use of drugs in the
peloton. He told the press that: "I believe in a sort of consensus
to fix limits and not overstep them ... If that ends up in a Tour
raced at 35 kph things will go well. Cycling is a sport of relative
and not absolute values. All you need is a first (placed rider),
a second, a 100th, but there is no need for the notion of a record.
If it has to be raced ordinarily and no longer at a super (level), that
doesn't matter."

- Spanish team ONCE will not ride again in France this year. The team of
World Number One, Laurent Jalabert has revised its program to exclude
France after the way it perceived it was treated during the Tour de France.
They were going to ride in the Tour du Limousin, Paris-Tours and the
Tour de l'Avenir. They are also contemplating legal action against
the Tour organisation. They believe that the French police were
heavy-handed in their investigations. The arrest of their team
doctor Nicolas Terrados culminated this unsatisfactory behaviour, they
claim. This is despite Terrados admitting to possession of banned substances.
He is claiming they were not for the riders but for support staff in the team.
The Chairman of ONCE, Jose Maria Arroyo told the press this afternoon:
"We are studying taking action against the organizers, against those who have
condemned us without evidence, against those who have attacked (our) cyclists.
We will go to any court or international organization
necessary to defend our rights which have been trodden on."

Terrados issued a statement which said: "I've never used anything
against the health of my sportsmen. This has always been the way in
my career. I would not have spent so much time abroad investigating to
end up using drugs. What they found in my bag
and on the bus is what one would expect to find in a doctor's
bag." He has been banned from mixing with ONCE until his case is heard.

- And now the organisers of the Vuelta have indicated they are looking into
a variation of the race route to eliminate the entry into France. Stage 13
on September 18 rides on French soil for 80 kms. The organisation has said
that: "We're studying whether it's advisable to enter France after
what has happened."

- The Swiss cycling federation issued a statement today requesting that
the UCI punishes the riders who have admitted to using banned drugs.
Hugo Steinegger, the Federation President said the penalties should
be centrally administered by the UCI. The Swiss Federation is currently
not doing anything specifically about their own licenced riders who have
admitted using banned drugs. Festina riders like Alex Zulle, Laurent
Dufaux and Armin Meier who have admitted taking EPO will be on the
starting line at the A Travers Lausanne ITT tonight. How come? If
the administrators of the sport were really serious they would have
acted quickly to stop these riders from competing.

- World Champion Laurent Brochard is to take action against the
Tour organisation for expelling him from the race. He told the press
today that: "They did not have the right to throw us out. Not even if
the team manager had problems. None of us had failed any drug tests.
They have forbidden us to conduct our lawful work. That can not be overlooked.